Lightyears Solar

Name

Lightyears Solar

Legal name

Lightyears Solar

Website

https://lightyearssolar.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Utility-Scale Solar Farm Development

NAICS

Solar Electric Power Generation (221114)

SIC

Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

Solar EPC & Construction (Utility-Scale, Rooftop, Balance of System) (EUAMABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Operations, Maintenance & Asset Management (O&M, Vegetation, Spares, SCADA) (EUACAGAH), Owner’s Engineering, Grid Interconnection & System Studies (PVsyst/Performance Modeling, Protection Studies) (EUACAGAG)

Keywords

• Utility-scale solar development
• Agrivoltaic solar farms
• Power purchase agreements
• Solar farm EPC services
• Renewable energy infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Solar Project Development and Sale: Lightyears develops solar farm projects from site acquisition through to consented, shovel-ready stage, then sells fully consented projects to buyers such as Infratec NZ and NewPower Energy. This includes managing grid connection approvals, resource consents, and financial close.
2. EPC Services (Engineering, Procurement, Construction): Lightyears offers comprehensive Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) services to clients seeking solar-powered solutions, including utility-scale feasibility studies, financial modelling, detailed solar PV engineering and design, grid connection, and long-term operations and maintenance.
3. Power Purchase Agreements (PPA): Lightyears arranges for businesses to purchase renewable energy from their solar farms via long-term Power Purchase Agreements. Businesses that operate during the day are an excellent match for solar generation. Off-takers include Prime Energy (Waiuku), Manawa Energy (Waingawa), and Meridian Energy (Reefton).
4. Land Lease Arrangements: Lightyears typically leases land on a long-term basis from landowners for solar farm development. This provides landowners with stable passive income while allowing continued agricultural use of the land.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Lightyears Solar develops, constructs, owns, and operates community-scale utility solar PV farms across New Zealand, typically 2.4-30 MW in size, using single-axis tracking and agrivoltaic (dual-use) layouts that connect to local distribution networks. Beyond farm ownership, the company sells shovel-ready consented solar projects to infrastructure buyers, delivers Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) services for clients, and arranges long-term Power Purchase Agreements so businesses can offtake renewable energy from the solar farms. It also provides a land appraisal service for prospective landowner partners considering a solar lease.

Product overview

Lightyears operates as a utility-scale solar PV developer in New Zealand, offering a portfolio of named solar farm projects alongside EPC services, PPAs, and land appraisal. The company's core offering is community-scale solar farm development, construction, and ownership (with projects including Ashburton 1 & 2 at 7 MW, Ashburton 3 at 6 MW, Carterton 1 at 4.7 MW, Carterton 2 at 9 MW, Kuratau at 16 MW, Ngaruawahia at 6 MW, Reefton at 13.5 MW, Timaru at 13 MW, Waimakariri 1 at 5 MW, and Waiuku at 2.4 MW), supplemented by Engineering Procurement and Construction services, Power Purchase Agreements for businesses, and agrivoltaic design for landowners. The company rebranded from Lightyears Solar to simply Lightyears in early 2025. Sold shovel-ready projects include the 30 MW Cambridge project to NewPower Energy and the 4.4 MW Naumai project to Infratec NZ.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community-Scale Solar Farm Development, Construction and Operations End-to-end development, construction, ownership and operation of community-scale solar PV farms across New Zealand (projects ranging from ~2.4 MW to 30 MW, e.g., Waiuku 2.4 MW, Ashburton 1&2 7 MW, Carterton 1 4.7 MW, Reefton 13.5 MW), connecting to local distribution networks and supplying daytime renewable energy via PPA or on-site supply.
• Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Services Comprehensive EPC services delivered to clients seeking solar-powered energy security, price certainty, and carbon reductions, spanning feasibility studies, financial modelling, detailed solar PV engineering and design, grid connection, construction, commissioning, and long-term operations and maintenance.
• Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) Tailored long-term Power Purchase Agreements enabling NZ businesses (including electricity retailers) to offtake renewable energy from Lightyears' solar farms to offset energy use, reduce costs, and meet sustainability goals.
• Shovel-Ready Solar Project Sales (Development Asset Sales) Sale of fully consented, grid-connection-ready solar farm development assets (e.g., 4.4 MW Naumai, 30 MW Cambridge) to infrastructure buyers such as Infratec NZ and NewPower Energy, which then construct and/or operate the assets.
• Land Appraisal Service for Solar Lease Partners Site-suitability assessment and land appraisal service for prospective landowner partners. Lightyears evaluates property size (minimum ~5 ha), location, topography, soil type, and proximity to grid connection to determine feasibility for solar farm development.

Quantifiable outcome

• The three farms funded by the March 2024 $6M raise (totalling 18 MW combined) are designed to power approximately 4,000 homes.
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• JA SolarcoreTechnology or Integration · 22 May 2026JA Solar, a Tier 1 solar module supplier, is partnering with Lightyears on the Reefton Solar Farm, supplying nearly 21,000 high-performance solar modules. This is the third Lightyears project delivered in partnership with JA Solar, following Carterton and Waimakariri. JA Solar participated in the Reefton construction ceremony alongside Lightyears and Buller District Council representatives.
• Meridian EnergycoreOthers · 22 May 2026Meridian Energy has partnered with Lightyears to purchase the output from the Reefton Solar Farm (13.5 MW) under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). This partnership provides long-term revenue certainty for the Reefton project and supports Meridian's renewable energy supply portfolio.
• NewPower EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2025NewPower Energy acquired Lightyears' fully consented 30 MWp Cambridge solar project in January 2025. NewPower Energy's sister company Infratec NZ was appointed as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor. The project will be constructed on 40 hectares of Waikato farmland south of Cambridge, featuring over 45,000 solar panels with tracking technology, and is expected to be fully commissioned by early 2027.
• Infratec NZcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 May 2022Infratec NZ, a division of WEL Networks, acquired Lightyears' first project, the Naumai Solar Farm (4.4 MW), as a shovel-ready development in May 2022. The 5.5 hectare site south of Dargaville was developed by Lightyears and sold prior to construction. Infratec subsequently built and operates the farm, outputting to the Northpower network. Infratec was also named as the EPC contractor for the Cambridge project acquired by NewPower Energy.
• Manawa EnergyminorOthersManawa Energy purchases the output from Waingawa Solar Farm (4.7 MW) under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement. The partnership ensures stable revenue for the farm and supports Manawa Energy's renewable energy supply commitments to its customers.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lodestone Energy: New Zealand community-scale solar developer building a portfolio of utility-scale solar farms across the country. Closest direct competitor in product offering, customer base (corporate off-takers), and geographic focus on distribution-connected solar in NZ.
• Infratec NZ: Solar development and EPC arm of WEL Networks. Acquired Lightyears' first project (Naumai 4.4 MW) and is named EPC contractor for the Cambridge 30 MW project Lightyears sold to NewPower Energy, making it both a buyer of Lightyears' development output and a peer in NZ utility-scale solar construction.
• NewPower Energy: New Zealand solar developer that acquired Lightyears' 30 MW Cambridge project in late 2025. Sister company of Infratec NZ. Operates as a competing solar developer with similar target off-takers and project scale in NZ.

Broad incumbents

• Meridian Energy: New Zealand's largest electricity generator and a PPA off-taker for Lightyears' Reefton 13.5 MW project. As a state-owned utility with multi-gigawatt renewable generation, it is both a customer and a potential competitor in larger-scale NZ renewable development.
• Manawa Energy: NZ electricity generator and PPA off-taker for Lightyears' Waingawa (4.7 MW) farm. A diversified renewable energy operator with hydro and wind assets that competes for the same corporate renewable off-take demand Lightyears targets.
• Genesis Energy: One of New Zealand's largest energy companies with a mix of thermal and renewable generation. Actively expanding its renewable portfolio and competing for the same corporate PPA, land-lease, and grid-connection opportunities as Lightyears.
• Contact Energy: NZ-listed integrated energy company with significant geothermal, hydro, wind, and growing solar exposure. A broad incumbent with the capital and customer base to expand into distribution-connected community solar.
• Mercury NZ: NZ-listed renewable electricity generator predominantly hydro and geothermal, actively growing its renewable generation portfolio. Competes with Lightyears for NZ renewable energy share and PPA off-take opportunities.
• Vector Limited: NZ-listed infrastructure company with electricity and gas distribution networks and a growing renewables arm. Operates distribution networks that host Lightyears' community-scale farms and is therefore both an infrastructure provider and a potential adjacent competitor.

Emerging players

• Harmony Energy: Emerging renewable energy developer with operations in New Zealand and the UK focused on battery energy storage and utility-scale solar. Overlaps with Lightyears in target customer segment (corporate off-takers) and product category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lightyears-solar

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lightyears Solar